White Lies
by TessaSpencer
Summary: TonyAngela: To get a client to sign her for a campaign, Angela must first lead them to believe she's a traditional American woman...This means the entire family has to get in on the act


"Good morning everyone," Angela chimed cheerily as she made her way through the kitchen door.  
  
She was greeted by a series of grunts and moans, and she remembered why she teased her family for being anything but morning people.  
  
"Breakfast, Angela?" Tony placed her cup of coffee in front of her, and a tall glass of orange juice.  
  
"Nope, you seem to have it all wrapped up," Angela laughed, lifting her cups to her lips.  
  
"You, uh, look really good this morning. Well, uh, you always look really good, but today you look...wow...Big client?" Tony couldn't help but notice how the crème coloured pantsuit fell gracefully over her curves, accentuating her nearly flawless body.  
  
"Big client...huh..." Mona snickered. "She's courting a bunch of religious extremists."  
  
"Mother," Angela scolded indignantly. "They are not extremists, and they are most certainly big clients."  
  
"2.5 million dollars," Mona said contemptuously.  
  
"Wow," Sam looked up from her plate for the first time at the mention of money. "What a friend they have in Jesus."  
  
Tony glared at her, but he truthfully couldn't fault her. He was thinking the same thing.  
  
"The Reverend and his wife will be coming over for dinner tonight, so we'll need to get something organized, and everyone will have to be on their best behaviour." Angela glanced around the table. "No bugs, no boys, no phone calls..." As she said each banned thing, she looked around the table at particular family members.  
  
"Wow you're getting tough," Tony remarked off handedly.  
  
Angela glared at Tony. "This is important. They found me, not the other way around. I need to impress them. I need you to have dinner ready for seven. They're getting here at six. I'll be home for 4:30. I need you to pick up my navy suit, find my Nine West pumps that match it, pick up the Jag from the shop, and pretend that we're a family." Taking another swig of her coffee, Angela watched it slosh around in the cup as her hand moved it.  
  
"There's no pretending there," Tony said, not catching what she was asking.  
  
"A different kind of family," Mona said, laughing. She had told Angela that it was a bad idea, but once again her daughter ignored her moderately good advice.  
  
Everyone stared at Angela, all unsure what they were supposed to be doing.  
  
"I need you to pretend that you're my husband," Angela said very sweetly.  
  
"But that'd be lying," Jonathon looked up at his mother, catching her glare. "Hey, Dad, can I have some more toast?" He smiled very innocently as Tony passed him the toast from his plate.  
  
"Here," Tony said, looking back towards Angela. "Why do you want me to lie?"  
  
"It's not lying...it's just...if the topic comes up, if you could pretend to be my husband..." Angela looked back towards the mug in front of her.  
  
"So, we're lying," Sam corrected.  
  
"We need this client," Angela said firmly, "and they aren't going to hire a divorcee who lives with her male housekeeper."  
  
"Then they should go stuff themselves," Mona said getting up from the table.  
  
"Or we could just let them believe whatever they want." Angela gave Mona that 'defy me and die' glare that she had become all to accustom to.  
  
"So we're married?"  
  
"While they're here."  
  
"Well, then, honey," Tony emphasized his last word, "I've been thinking that we could really use a new second car."  
  
Angela looked up to him, seeing that he was beaming. "Very funny."  
  
"And I was thinking, can we start working on expanding our family?"  
  
Mona's eyes lit up at the idea of Tony and Angela being a real couple—perks and all. Maybe then her daughter would be less uptight, and the family wouldn't have to perger themselves for what she was certain was nothing less than fundamentalist extremists.  
  
"Ha ha..."  
  
"Come on, mom," Sam said, getting in to the act, "I've always wanted to have a little sister...and Jonathon only partially fills that..."  
  
"Guys!"  
  
"It's okay kids, I'll still love you, when your mother gets so caught up in her work that she doesn't even come home." Tony patted Jonathon and Sam on their backs.  
  
"Alright, already!" Angela looked between them, barely able to stifle a giggle. "You guys...you are incorrigible."  
  
"I don't know what that means," Sam said, "but does it mean that I'll get a raise in allowance now that I have two parents?"  
  
"Eh oh, your allowance is just fine young lady."  
  
"Had to try."  
  
"Let's go, Angela, before this whole family thing turns into something even more frightening than it already is." Mona picked up her purse and briefcase and made her way out the door, wondering if this family was a curse or a blessing.  
  
2***  
  
"Hi honey, I'm home," Angela laughed, as she walked through the door.  
  
"Mom!" Sam called from the couch. "I missed you so much today."  
  
"You're not getting a raise in allowance, young lady!" Angela winked at her as she placed her briefcase down on the desk.  
  
"Had to try."  
  
"Commendable. But flawed performance. Next time you should try rushing up to me, throwing your arms around me, and explaining how much you worship me, and want to be like me." Angela raised her eyebrows at Sam as she settled into the spot on the couch next to her.  
  
"For that," Sam said teasingly, "I had better get an Oscar."  
  
Angela playfully slapped at Sam's arm. "I love you too honey, and remind me later to cut you out of my will."  
  
The two exchanged glances and smiled. "I think we could totally pass as a family," Sam said finally.  
  
"It's not like we need to act very much."  
  
"How are my two favourite girls?" Tony walked into the living room, laundry basket in hand.  
  
"Mom's cutting me out of the will," Sam said, in mock disappointment. "But I'll at least still get the van, right?"  
  
"You'd want it?" Angela questioned under her breath, only loud enough to be heard by Sam.  
  
"Play nicely girls, or we'll have to look up some family therapy." Tony set his laundry basket down on the chair and began folding the clothes.  
  
"Oh, Tony...I was thinking. I should probably be bringing dinner out with you, and you probably should say you work at the agency." Angela had been thinking about what would make their act seem most believable, and that was the only thing she could think of that would definitely give them away.  
  
"Uh, you're not cooking it with him though, are you?" Sam looked between the adults, and when she was the recipient of another glare, she stood. "I'll uh...I'll take this book up stairs and read it."  
  
"Good plan," Tony and Angela said in unison.  
  
"You should practice doing that more often," Sam teased. "Definitely seems like you two are married." Racing up the stairs, and away from the disapproving looks, Sam couldn't contain her laughter.  
  
"So you want to help me serve dinner?"  
  
"Yeah, if you don't mind."  
  
"But you won't be cooking with me, right?"  
  
"Right."  
  
Tony heaved a sigh of relief. "Okay then."  
  
"I can cook," Angela said, determined.  
  
"Sure, but we want these guys to live, and sign with the agency, right? If you cook..." Tony gave her a mischievous grin.  
  
"I'll claim wife abuse," Angela countered... "And then I'll get half of everything you own when we get divorced."  
  
"So you *do* want the van, huh?"  
  
"The vindictive part of me would."  
  
"Well we're not getting a divorce, so you're stuck with me." Tony winked her and then returned to folding the clothes.  
  
3***  
  
"Fifteen minutes," Tony called up the stairs. None of his family had yet appeared, and he was getting nervous. He knew that he'd need enough time to evaluate Sam's wardrobe, and whether or not it was client appropriate.  
  
There was a very forced round of 'coming' yelled down the stairs, and Tony smiled to himself. They really were a family, in most respects at least.  
  
"Alright, well be quick," he called back.  
  
Everything seemed pretty perfect—dinner was coming along well, and he had managed to find a really great recipe for a chocolate mint cake. If the reactions of the family meant anything, he knew it would be a smash hit.  
  
"Well?" Angela came down the stairs, her navy suit fitting her perfectly.  
  
"It fits very well," he said, looking her up and down, before realizing his slip. "I mean, you look terrific."  
  
Angela blushed at the compliment. It was easy to remember what she liked about him, and it was also fairly simple to see that she had a huge crush on him. "You look pretty spiffy too. That is definitely your colour." Straightening his tie and fixing his collar, Angela couldn't remember when she had become so close to him, or when she had moved across the room and within inches of his body.  
  
"Thanks," he said, shrugging to gesture towards his collar. "I always mess these up when I put a tie on."  
  
"Well I enjoy fixing it," she said.  
  
They stood there in silence for a minute, her hands still resting on his collar.  
  
"Hey mom, pops...I was thinking, if Sam's allowance is in negotiation, we should talk." Jonathon bounded down the steps, not realizing that he would be interrupting anything.  
  
Angela and Tony pulled apart quickly, unsure what to do with themselves, and both more than a little aroused by their previous contact.  
  
"No negotiating," Tony said simply, before he inspected the boy's attire. "Nicely dressed...Jonathon, who helped you pick these out?"  
  
"I'm growing up, Tony, I can pick my own clothes." He was indignant, and pouted slightly.  
  
"Sure, sure. But who helped you today?"  
  
"Mom did."  
  
Angela laughed. "Just because we wanted tonight to be perfect," she said reassuringly.  
  
"Well, mom, you did a great job." Tony smiled, and then turned towards the stairs again. "Sam?"  
  
"I'm here, I'm here...just wanted to make sure I liked these pants with this shirt." Sam hurried down the stairs.  
  
"Sam! You are not wearing your black Sabbath shirt."  
  
"I know, I just like bugging you." Pulling her black t-shirt over her head, Sam quickly fixed the shirt she had worn under it. "Better?"  
  
The short-sleeved blue knit was a good alternative to Ozzy Osbourne, Tony decided. "Much," he and Angela said in unison.  
  
"Seriously, you to might as well be married," Sam said again.  
  
"Except they forget about all the fun parts," Mona added, slipping in through the back door, dressed in a typically Mona-revealing frock. The bodice emphasized her breasts and the skirt emphasized the ever present hour glass figure.  
  
"What? No fishnet stockings, mother?"  
  
"I do have time to go change," Mona teased. She had tried to do conservative, and this was the best she could do without feeling...Matronly.  
  
"Mona," Tony said in exasperation.  
  
"We're fine," Angela said finally. "Everything will go fine."  
  
4***  
  
"Do you think we schmoozed them enough?" Sam collapsed on the couch next to Angela.  
  
"Well, we have the campaign." Angela sighed. "Of course, you and Jonathon had to play with their kids, and they seemed pretty...uninteresting."  
  
"Ruth, their daughter, was so prissy. When she saw my room, she was upset that I didn't have any prayers on my walls, and that Bruce Springsteen was a sign of the devil."  
  
Angela stifled a laugh. "Well, considering that, you really probably do deserve a raise in allowance."  
  
"Really?" Sam wiggled her eyebrows playfully and moved in closer to Angela. "I mean, mom, I saw how you were reeling those people in over dinner, and I am so proud of you—I can think of nothing I'd like more than to grow up to be just like you."  
  
Angela couldn't help but feel a surge of warmth when Sam called her mom. It just felt right.  
  
Then again, it would have felt even more right if it weren't sarcasm.  
  
"I think you may have earned a one-time shopping trip down town with me, should you be interested." Angela smiled as she remembered how much they always had on their shopping trips. She knew that the outings were as much for her benefit as they were for Sam's.  
  
"That would be great!" Sam threw her arms around Angela, and then seriously said, "you know, there's no one in the world I'd rather call mom."  
  
"You're just saying that because you want new shoes," Angela teased, knowing full well that really Sam meant it.  
  
"Actually, a new jacket...but still. You've been so nice to me, and I love you."  
  
"I love you too sweetheart." Angela pushed the girl's hair out of her face and pressed a motherly kiss to her forehead. "Now you had better get to bed before your dad comes in here and kills you for still being awake."  
  
"Night mom," Sam said, hugging her, and then rushing to the stairs.  
  
"Night honey."  
  
Watching her race up the stairs, Angela wondered if there'd ever be a time when Sam would just naturally call her mom, without any duress or teasing.  
  
"You've got to admit," Mona said, approaching Angela from the dining room, "that feels pretty good, doesn't it?"  
  
"Pardon?" Angela tried to feign ignorance, but she knew that her mother would catch her lying.  
  
"Sam, calling you mom. Jonathon calling Tony dad. Pretending you're married. Holding hands on the couch after dinner, talking to the Reverend. Clearing the table together, and calling each other honey. Recounting the perfect wedding—too bad it's not happened to either of you yet."  
  
"Mother!" Angela had to admit, she had gotten more into the evening than she had anticipated, but she was hardly ready to tell her mother that not only did she have very serious feelings for Tony, but that she was nearing the point of being ready to act on them.  
  
"Well they asked how long you've been married...You seemed to have all the details at your fingertips." Mona smiled, falling back into the overstuffed chair and elevating her feet to the table. "It was really quite amazing how well you pulled that together—not one stutter or trip up."  
  
Angela wasn't sure she should confess to her mother that she had dreamed of marrying Tony, and she was certain that she wasn't ready to tell her about the dreams of their married life that seemed to visit her frequently.  
  
"I thought things through earlier," she lied.  
  
"And you are falling in love with Tony, so that couldn't hurt."  
  
The two women exchanged knowing looks. There was no way to deny her feelings, and even if there were, she would know how useless it was. Mona knew Angela better than anyone in the world, even Tony, because she had been her best friend for all of her life.  
  
"We have an early day tomorrow," Angela pointed out, "so we should be getting some sleep."  
  
"Night."  
  
"Night mother," Angela said, making her way to the steps and wondering if she'd ever act on the emotions bubbling inside of her.  
  
5***  
  
"Good morning, Bower Agency." Mona yawned as she picked up her pencil. More work, and it's only the second hour.  
  
"Good morning, Mrs. Robinson," the voice from the other line said.  
  
"Do I know you?" She asked impatiently, unsure if she actually recognized the voice or not.  
  
"This is Mrs. Entwhistle. We had dinner with your family last night."  
  
"Oh yes," Mona said, remembering the way she was nearly bored into a coma. "How are you?"  
  
"Wonderful, thank you." Mrs. Entwhistle was too cheery for Mona's liking. "May I speak to Tony, please?"  
  
'Crap,' Mona thought. 'She thinks Tony works here.' "Um, he's actually out at a meeting right now. Would you like to speak with Angela?"  
  
"Certainly," the Reverend's wife replied.  
  
Pushing the hold button and rushing into Angela's office, Mona laughed as she startled her daughter. "The wife from hell is on line one."  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"Mrs. Entwhistle. She's on line one. She wanted to talk to Tony, but I told her that he was out at a meeting."  
  
"Thanks mother," Angela said, sighing. This was turning out to be more work than she had expected.  
  
"Good morning Mrs. Entwhistle," Angela tried not to gag when she remembered the meeting from the night before—when they introduced themselves to her and the family as 'Reverend and Mrs. Entwhistle.'  
  
"Good morning Angela, and please, call me June."  
  
"June, what can I do for you this morning?" She wanted to get right down to business, and get off the phone as quickly as possible. Angela didn't mind the couple, truthfully, but their married bliss was a tad bit nauseating when Angela's own bliss was...well, a white lie.  
  
"Well, my husband and I are running a retreat this weekend, and we wanted to invite you and Tony to it. It's for married couples only, so maybe you could get your mother to watch the kids, but it will be really splendid, I promise you. Worth being separated from your beautiful children for four days."  
  
"I thought you said it was this weekend?" Angela was trying to piece together what this event actually was.  
  
"Well, we ask everyone to arrive Thursday night or Friday morning by eight at the latest, and then you leave after dinner on Monday. It's a long weekend, to provide the couples a rest from the working world."  
  
"Oh," Angela said, wondering how she might go about getting out of the commitment.  
  
"I know it would be a strain on your business to have you both out, but I am sure you have capable staff," the woman continued, determined to make Angela accept her offer.  
  
"Of course." Damn, there went her excuse.  
  
"So, will you come?"  
  
"Uh, sure. That sounds wonderful. We wouldn't miss it for anything." Angela began thudding her hand against the desk. Now she'd have to explain this to Tony.  
  
"Great. You'll be in tent 23, and all you have to bring is enough clothing for the weekend, a bathing suit, and a camera."  
  
Angela wrote down all the information as quickly as she could, and then forced her best act of kindness. "Thank you so much for thinking of us."  
  
"Our pleasure. See you Thursday or Friday."  
  
What had she gotten them into, Angela wondered. Re-reading the information, she realized how bad of a situation this could be.  
  
"Mother!"  
  
"You bellowed?" Mona, agitated by the manner in which she was beckoned, appeared in the doorway.  
  
"Get me the Reverend's file, would you?"  
  
6***  
  
"Tony!" Mona called in a sing-song voice. "Can you come here for a minute—Angela needs to speak to you."  
  
This was one conversation she was not going to miss.  
  
"Hey, how was work today?"  
  
"Great," Mona replied, unable to contain her excitement. It had been hilarious.  
  
"Uh oh. What's wrong? What do I have to do now?" Tony looked at Angela, who had yet to say a word.  
  
"Um, mother, can I talk to Tony alone for a minute?"  
  
"No," Mona said, watching Angela tense.  
  
"Uh, Tony, Mrs. Entwhistle called today, and asked if we'd attend a seminar this weekend. It's for married couples."  
  
"Sure, but when? I have a major sociology paper due next Wednesday, so I'll have to organize my library time around that.  
  
"Thursday to Monday night," Mona interjected.  
  
"That's one heck of a seminar!"  
  
"It's..." Angela fumbled.  
  
"It's either a seminar for married couples, having trouble conceiving, or a seminar to reaffirm your undying and unwavering love," Mona interrupted again.  
  
"What do you mean 'either'?"  
  
"Angela accepted the invitation without asking—that's all the information we could get from the brochures they had given us to start a campaign."  
  
"Do I need to be here? I mean, you're doing all the talking for me, mother." Angela looked between the two.  
  
"Oh, you're staying," Tony said firmly. "What else do you need to tell me? I have this ominous feeling there's more."  
  
"Oh yeah," Mona said insistently.  
  
"We have to be there Friday morning by eight. It's in Manchester, New Hampshire. On a farm."  
  
"How many other people will be there?"  
  
"From the sounds of it, they take about a dozen couples per retreat."  
  
"It's a retreat, now, huh?" Tony wasn't sure if he liked telling that big of a lie—letting them believe that they were happily married, and trying to conceive, or happily married and wanting to reaffirm their love.  
  
They had yet to affirm their love—how could they reaffirm something they had not yet discussed openly in any seriousness.  
  
"Well..." There was no way around it. It was an uncomfortable situation, and there was no denying it.  
  
"This is for the Bower Agency, right? That's why we're going? To help keep this client?"  
  
Angela nodded.  
  
"So we'll leave on Thursday night. I'll bring some books with me, and hopefully I can sneak away and work on my project."  
  
Angela couldn't believe how wonderful a man he was—just when she thought there was nothing she didn't know about him, he went and surprised her. She was certain he'd say no, but his altruistic nature was enough to make him agree.  
  
"Thank you," she said happily, wrapping her arms around him in a hug.  
  
"You're welcome," he said, secretly inhaling the scent of her hair, and wishing they really could affirm their love.  
  
"Angela didn't mention the tents, did she?" Mona knew that her presence had been nearly completely forgotten, and that was something she wouldn't allow. Besides, she was hoping for fire works.  
  
"Tents?" He looked between the women, reluctant to believe that he hadn't misheard.  
  
"Yeah, you guys have to sleep in a tent."  
  
"Oh really?"  
  
"I don't know anything else about it though," Angela reassured him. "And hopefully they're...God, I'm so sorry." She tried to feel less anxiety about the whole scenario, but no matter how she thought about it, it was bad.  
  
"Well, we'll go, and then when we get back, we're discussing a pay raise," Tony said, only partially teasing. Of all the things he would do for Angela, trying to sleep while laying in a tent beside her...that seemed like too great of a request. He was, after all, just a man, and she was an incredibly beautiful woman.  
  
"I can handle that," Angela said, feeling a pit develop in her stomach. Of all the things she could handle, the idea of sleeping next to Tony, in a tent, seemed like it would prove to be the most difficult time of her life.  
  
7***  
  
The drive had been pretty quiet—traffic was good and there wasn't much construction. Late May seemed to be a good time to drive to New England, Tony decided.  
  
He drove all the way, letting Angela read over files and sort out some work related problems that had been bugging her. When she finally put the folders down, she played with the radio dial until she had found some music, and began singing along.  
  
"I got sunshine, on a cloudy day..."  
  
"When it's cold outside," Tony joined in, "I got the month of May."  
  
"I bet you'd say, what can make me feel this way?" The exchanged glances as they broke into the next line. "My girl. Talking 'bout my girl."  
  
"My girl," Tony sang in a falsetto.  
  
It was perfect, he thought. Driving with Angela and singing along to oldies on the radio—what more could he want from life. Of course, he knew the answer. He wanted her to return the feelings that he felt for her.  
  
After a few more songs, Angela began to yawn, and Tony encouraged her to go to sleep. Watching her nod off, he wondered when things had changed—when he had decided that he had feelings for her, and what could he do next.  
  
*-*-  
  
"Ang, wake up," he said, gently shaking her shoulder. "We're here."  
  
"Mmmm...Tony, lemme sleep a little while longer, will you?" She mumbled in her sleep, her eyes never once indicating she might wake up soon.  
  
"I would, but you aren't leaving me to face these people by my self," Tony laughed. "Wake up." His voice was calm and soothing, and he was trying to wake her as gently as possible.  
  
"Just a little longer, please?" Angela curled against his body, and suddenly he felt very vulnerable, standing in the doorway of the jeep, her body pressed against his.  
  
"Honey, you should wake up now. We're in Manchester," he reminded her, as he noticed the Reverend approaching them.  
  
"Even Snow White was woken with a kiss," the reverend said as he grinned.  
  
"Well this Snow White isn't very friendly when she's being woken up." Tony tried to cover, although the idea of kissing her seemed like a good one.  
  
"Ohhhh...Tony," she said softly, moving her face to the crook of his neck.  
  
He could feel himself blushing, as the Reverend stifled a laugh. "I doubt Snow White would like to have been woken from such a dream."  
  
"Angela, wake up, dear." He shook her arm a little more firmly and noticed she was waking up. "Sorry to wake you, but we're here."  
  
"Oh, God, you should have woken me sooner," she said as she realized that they had an audience.  
  
"You seemed to be having sweet dreams," the reverend pointed out, before disappearing again.  
  
As soon as he was out of ear shot, Angela turned to Tony, and finally noticed their close proximity.  
  
"Did I say something I'm going to regret?"  
  
"Nah," he said simply as he moved away and watched her compose herself.  
  
"Are you lying to me?"  
  
"I never lie to you," he said as he went to the back of the truck and started pulling stuff out.  
  
*-*-*  
  
"Tent 23?"  
  
"Yeah," Angela said, looking up and down the rows of tents. They were spaced out quite a bit, but she could still see the lineal arrangement of them.  
  
"Do you think they've moved them so far apart so that if people are still working on...you know...getting pregnant...that we wouldn't hear them?"  
  
"We still don't know why we're here, do we?"  
  
"Well, we have a better idea now." Angela laughed, while she pointed the flashlight at the tent to see its number.  
  
"We're here. Looks so..."  
  
"Small?"  
  
"Miniscule," Tony added. "So we get one tent, huh?"  
  
"Well, we're married." Angela looked at it, and wondered if this could become any more uncomfortable.  
  
"Welcome home," he said as he opened the front of the tent.  
  
There was enough space inside of the tent for one sleeping bag (thankfully a double) and a small cooler. There was also a storage unit along the left wall, where, they guessed, they'd store their stuff. "Ladies first," Tony smiled, as he gestured for her to enter. "Don't step on our bed with your shoes."  
  
Angela maneuvered her way into the tent, resting on the bed, and taking her shoes off, and then swiveling in the rest of the way. She couldn't stand upright—hell, she could barely sit upright.  
  
"Hey," Tony said, as he bounded in. "Spacious and well decorated, I see."  
  
Angela gave him her standard 'don't start' glare.  
  
"Could be worse. Could be a single bag." Tony laughed as he began stuffing the things into the cubby holes.  
  
"Sure, you say that now." Angela began to realize how badly this weekend was going to go.  
  
"We can't change anything now, so get over it." Tony laughed as Angela wiggled the rest of the way up the sleeping bag.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
8***  
  
"Welcome friends, to our retreat. This weekend, we'll do some exercises to help you develop your relationship, and we'll teach you how to reach the fullest potential of your partner." The Reverend walked around the group, who were sitting in a giant circle around a fire pit. "We have two more couples coming in the morning, so for tonight, we're going to keep it simple—we want you to have a good time, and feel free to explore the camp or wander as you see fit."  
  
Mrs. Entwhistle laughed. "For those of you who feel like, uh, communing with nature, please be reminded that there is poison ivy out there, and if you contract it in a...personal spot...it can be very uncomfortable, so please be aware."  
  
There were small, strangled laughs from around the group.  
  
Tony sat there in complete shock, afraid that he'd wake up in the middle of the night to go to the washroom, and stumble upon the Reverend and his wife doing something naughty in a bush.  
  
"You're all dismissed for the evening. Have a good night, and we'll see at nine am tomorrow."  
  
Angela and Tony stood and turned back towards their tent.  
  
"Sounds like fun," Tony teased as Angela stumbled on a stick. Reaching out to catch her, he laughed.  
  
"I'm not a fan of wandering around the woods in the dark." The stern glare that she gave him wasn't fully directed at him as much as it was towards the way he made her feel. She wanted to proposition him, and do some 'communing' with nature of her own, but something about the entire situation, and sheer fear, prevented her from saying anything more.  
  
As they approached the tent, Tony stopped and motioned for her to continue on. "Go, get your stuff and you can get changed first. I'll go next."  
  
"Thanks," she said, as she ducked into the tent and grabbed her things. "But I don't want to walk up to the bathrooms alone."  
  
"Okay, well give me a minute, and we'll go together."  
  
*-*-*  
  
"Unisex bathrooms?" Angela looked at the sign, in disgust. "Don't we get any privacy?"  
  
"Well, we're married. In theory we share a bathroom any way." Tony looked at the hand painted sign above the cabin that was to be used as a washroom area.  
  
"But not with eleven other men and eleven other women!"  
  
"Yeah, well, we're big kids. I won't peak under the stall if you promise you won't." Tony offered a heart warming smile.  
  
"Sure sure." Angela opened the door and gasped. "We are not using these all weekend."  
  
"What's wrong?" Peering into the washrooms, over her shoulder, Tony suddenly realized why she was so shaken. "These people don't believe in doors and shower stalls?"  
  
It was a totally open-concept washroom. No doors, no closed stalls. Just shower cubicles with three walls—no fourth. Along one wall there was a series of sinks, along the other there was the showers, and then on the final, there were toilets, but not one thing was closed in.  
  
"I can't stay like this. What if someone walks in while I'm in here?"  
  
"I think they anticipate that," Tony said as he walked further in.  
  
"Okay, here's the plan. You get dressed looking at the toilets, and I'll get dressed looking at the sinks. When we're done, we'll say 'done' and then we can both turn around—but not before the other person said done, okay?" Angela waited for his answer, horrified by the idea that anyone could walk in at any moment.  
  
"Deal," Tony said, "so are you ready? We might as well get this over with while we have the place to ourselves."  
  
"Ready."  
  
They both turned in their respective directions and began to change, each trying to get dressed as fast as they could.  
  
Angela realized as she was pulling her shirt over her head that she had the perfect view of Tony as he was changing. Mirrors, she decided, were a wonderful thing.  
  
"Done," Tony called.  
  
"One second." Angela straightened her tank top and made sure that she was decently covered. "Done," she finally said. As they turned around, Tony came to meet her at the sinks and began brushing his teeth. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"  
  
"Nah, we lucked out—no one walked in on us."  
  
"Yeah, definitely lucked out." Tony washed his face and then put his stuff back into his toiletry bag. "Oh and Ang?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Tomorrow night, *I* get the mirrors." Tony smiled sweetly at her and then headed for the door. Stopping at the threshold and holding it open for her. "Ready honey?"  
  
Angela couldn't fight the crimson that was creeping over her. She hadn't realized that he knew she had been watching him, but obviously he had.  
  
"Ready."  
  
*-*-*  
  
The walk back to camp had been fairly quiet. Angela was still too embarrassed that Tony had known that she was watching him change, and more than anything, she just wasn't sure what she should say. They were on their way back to a tent, where they were going to crawl into a sleeping bag together.  
  
Opening the tent flap, Tony gestured for Angela to enter first, and then he followed, kicking his shoes off and crawling to the back of the sleeping bag.  
  
"You coming?"  
  
"Uh, yeah," she said, realizing that he wasn't wearing a shirt to bed.  
  
She was beginning to wish she had brought something less revealing than her plaid shorts and the matching white tank top with plaid piping.  
  
Crawling in next to him, and laying down, Tony leaned over her and for a second, their bodies were inches apart. He looked down on her, and in the crisp moonlight that was filtering down through a rooftop 'sky light', there was suddenly this urge greater than any they had felt before to act on their feelings.  
  
"I'll just...uh, zip us up," Tony said, finally coming back to his senses. His hand reached down the sleeping bag and accidentally brushed against her thigh. "Sorry."  
  
"It's okay," she said, despite feeling her heart palpitate.  
  
Finally, zipped into their sleeping bag, Tony and Angela realized how little space they had.  
  
"This is a tight fit," she tried to joke.  
  
"Yeah," was all he could say, having lost the power of speech when, on his trip up the sleeping bag, his body had briefly pressed down on Angela's chest.  
  
"Well, goodnight," Angela said, trying not to curl against his body.  
  
"Night Angela," Tony replied, still unsure if he'd ever be able to fall asleep.  
  
9***  
  
Waking up, Angela realized that her pillow was shifting beneath her, and in a sleep induced haze, her only rationale was that her arm was under it. Shifting both of her arms, she suddenly realized that her head was resting on one arm, while the other was stretched out in front of her. Her pillow was still moving.  
  
Opening her eyes, Angela looked at her hand, and realized that the reason that her pillow was moving was because she had her arm resting across Tony's chest—in effect, she was lying across Tony's body.  
  
Not wanting to move too quickly, for fear of waking him, Angela silently shifted on to her side, moving her back to Tony, and bit down on her lip. She had slept incredibly well last night, despite her nap in the car, and she couldn't help but wonder if that was because she had been in Tony's arms. Instead, Angela decided to pretend it was the combination of the fresh air and the exhausting happenings of the week.  
  
"Sure, move just when I was starting to fall asleep," he said in a low voice, not expecting her to be awake.  
  
"You're awake?"  
  
"Couldn't sleep," he said quietly, disappointing Angela. She had slept so well being in his presence, and he couldn't sleep.  
  
"Oh," was all she could say. "Any reason in particular?"  
  
"I was thinking about when I last spent the night inside a sleeping bag with an amazing, sexy woman, and I realized it was with you. And nothing happened then either."  
  
Angela blushed, and then rolled back onto her other side to face him. "Well, nothing happened then because we were on a billboard, and in view of the entire city."  
  
"And last night?"  
  
"You said you wanted to wait until...I mean, if we got married."  
  
"Yeah," he agreed, wishing he could kick himself. Waiting was over rated when he knew he loved her more than anything in the world.  
  
"Ready to go back to sleep for a bit?" Resting her head on his chest, Angela closed her eyes and listened to his heart beat.  
  
"Sure," he said, wrapping his arms around her and closing his eyes.  
  
*-*-*  
  
"Good morning, sleepy heads." Mrs. Entwhistle was walking out of the bathroom area when Tony and Angela were stumbling towards it.  
  
"Morning," Angela muttered, feeling more groggy than usual. She really had just wanted to stay in bed.  
  
Tony smiled at the woman and then looked towards the bathrooms. "Did we miss the morning rush?"  
  
"By a long shot—it's 11:15," she said, grinning. "But we didn't want to disturb you two. Judging by the noises coming from your tent last night, you guys didn't get much sleep." She winked at them as she turned to leave, never once looking even slightly embarrassed by what she said.  
  
"What noises?" Angela asked, suddenly fearing for the worst.  
  
"You, uh, were talking in your sleep for a while," Tony confessed. He hadn't anticipated any one else hearing, and he most definitely had not intended to say anything to her—he knew that Angela would be embarrassed to know what she spent her night saying.  
  
"What did I say?"  
  
"Nothing in particular," he said, as he went into the bathroom and looked around. There wasn't any one there.  
  
"What kind of 'nothing in particular'?"  
  
"Just a few things—look, don't worry. I know you were asleep, and they all think we're married." Tony grabbed a couple of towels from the cubbies and tossed one to Angela. We had better get showered up and ready for the day. We've already missed the morning activities."  
  
Angela was trying to remember what she dreamed about. She knew it wasn't nightmares. She didn't wake up with that dry-throat, startled feeling. It dawned on her that maybe she was once again talking about Tony in her sleep, and he had been lying beside her.  
  
"Uh, Tony..."  
  
"Don't worry Angela, seriously. It's no big deal."  
  
"Can you at least give me the abridged version? So at least I can know what I was saying?" She looked at him, practically begging for an explanation. It was much too difficult for her to cope with not knowing more than anything else.  
  
"You were very happy. You giggled. You sounded like you were enjoying yourself," he said quietly, still somewhat ashamed that he had spent the entire time listening to her, and then the rest of the night fantasizing about her sounding like that when he made love to her.  
  
"What did I say?"  
  
"Just the basics," he tried to cover, but she gave him a look which made it clear that she had no intentions of letting him off the hook that easily. "That you loved me, and that you needed me."  
  
"Oh."  
  
That wasn't the response he had hoped for. A part of him was hoping that she'd say 'I'm not ashamed, because it's true.' But she wasn't about to say that.  
  
"Let's get our showers, and get out of here." Tony turned on the water, and then said. "It's not a big deal Angela. Of course you love me, and I love you—we're best friends. And I need you too. So what if you said it in your sleep?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess," she said, knowing full well that he knew what she truly meant. "Back to the wall," Angela said, instructing, "and turn."  
  
As they slipped into 'discreet shower mode', Tony sighed wishing that their relationship would do something—that it would some how evolve into something else.  
  
10***  
  
Showering had been awkward. They both had washed as quickly as they could, and then waited for the other so that they could go about their system.  
  
Tony felt like he was back in grade three. He had seen naked women before. Actually, he had seen Angela naked before too. But, in all fairness, he didn't want her to see him naked, because then she'd know exactly what she did to him, and how passionately he felt about her.  
  
They had gotten dressed pretty quickly, and then turned to leave, neither one really facing each other.  
  
"The next activity is over at the club house," a woman said as she rushed passed them. "You must be Tony and Angela. I'm Helena." She smiled as she continued on her way into the trees behind the bathroom area.  
  
"Well, then, let's drop off these clothes and head to the club house."  
  
The walk was almost totally silent. Neither one felt very comfortable, and they just kept walking until they reached their destination.  
  
"Welcome," the reverend said, teasingly. "I hope you had a good night."  
  
Angela forced a smile, and then nodded, as she took a seat on a folding chair, and Tony sat next to her.  
  
"Today's activity is one that actually will last all weekend. It's pretty simple—no rules to it really—except that it means you and your spouse has to learn to function as one." The reverend laughed. "This is always the part where you can tell who is most self-conscious."  
  
Tony and Angela exchanged worried glances, neither sure what would come next.  
  
"My wife will be coming along with handcuffs—and thankfully these are a variation on the ones you'd find in bondage stores..."  
  
Angela felt her stomach drop. Handcuffs? Bondage stores?  
  
"These are custom-designed to be more durable than those you'd find for sale, but more comfortable than standard police handcuffs. Elise is going to put them on you, and you're stuck with them until Monday before you leave. Every year there is someone who wants to be able to remove their clothes more easily than being cut out of them, so this year there is a standard issue bathing suit that you can wear underneath your clothes, should you choose. You have twenty minutes to go back to your tents, change should you want to, and then Elise will be starting." The Reverend didn't say anything more, as he made his exit from the club house.  
  
No body seemed all that bothered by being handcuffed to their spouse, but Tony and Angela were seated still, wondering if there was any way out of it.  
  
"You never said anything about bondage cuffs," Tony said quietly.  
  
"I didn't know about them."  
  
"Well, what do we do now?" He looked at her, confused about how he was feeling.  
  
"I drop the client—tell them we lied to them and move on." Angela looked at him in determination.  
  
"2.5 million, Angela."  
  
"I know, but I'm not sure it's worth it."  
  
"Being handcuffed to me for three and a half days isn't worth 2.5 million—that's such a horrible way of making that money?"  
  
"No, but being handcuffed to your best friend, while trapped in a tent to sleep, and wearing a bathing suit...that seems like a pretty bad way to earn it." Angela was trying to rationalize why she was so uncomfortable with the idea, but truthfully it wasn't really a case of moral outrage.  
  
"Well it's your call. It's your client. And I'll deal," Tony said, wondering if he could handle the proximity of their bodies during the night, when handcuffed together.  
  
"Just...don't you think it's degrading?"  
  
"Only if I were handcuffed to someone I didn't love," Tony said more loudly than he intended.  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"No, don't worry." Angela looked at him, and then considered her options. She liked being able to sleep in the same bed as him. She liked it a lot. "So it's not the end of the world if we go through with this?"  
  
"I don't think so," Tony said, somewhat hesitant.  
  
"Okay, well then let's do it." Angela watched as Tony's eyes lit up slightly. It was good to know that she wasn't the only one excited to have this opportunity.  
  
*-*-*  
  
"Have I ever told you how amazing you look in a bikini?" Tony appraised Angela, standing before him in a royal blue halter bikini, which tied around her neck.  
  
Angela blushed. "I don't think so," she said quietly. "You look very...handsome in your swim trunks too."  
  
"We match," he joked. "So, where are the handcuffs?"  
  
As if by request, Elise appeared from the flap of the neighboring tent. "Ready?"  
  
"Yeah," Angela said as she offered out her right arm.  
  
Tony's left arm was suddenly shackled into the handcuff and attached to Angela's. "So, I'm stuck with you, huh?"  
  
Angela laughed, and Elise drew a number on the cuffs with a black permanent marker. "So I know which key to use," she explained, as she winked. "Otherwise we'd have to cut off your hands or something."  
  
11***  
  
"If I had of realized we'd have to go to the bathroom together, I might not have agreed to this," Angela said, trying to wash her hands.  
  
"Well, I don't think either one of us thought this out too well," Tony admitted. "But let's face it, we're stuck now. No getting out of these things 'til Monday."  
  
Angela sighed as she tried to fix her hair, only realizing once she raised both of her hands to adjust her pony tail that Tony's went with hers. "Sorry."  
  
"No problem."  
  
"So, I hear we're going to be doing some from of race," Angela said, already concerned about what it might be.  
  
"Our luck, we're going to break a limb, and be stuck together until we can get it cast." Tony laughed.  
  
*-*-  
  
"I'm sorry," Tony laughed.  
  
"I can't believe you dropped my sarong."  
  
"I stepped on it. It wasn't on purpose." Tony couldn't believe it either, but at the same time he was sort of enjoying the look she had given him.  
  
"Sure," she said.  
  
"Well, it was a race, and instead of having you holding us back, I decided to carry you. It's not my fault we left your skirt at the starting line." Tony laughed harder as he recounted the event.  
  
"Well, you could have just dragged me—it hasn't stopped you before."  
  
"What, and hurt my shoulder again?"  
  
"It was fun," Angela confessed, despite the embarrassment of being carried 300 feet, wearing her bikini. "But don't you dare do it again."  
  
"I did *not* do it on purpose last time either," he said, determined to set the record straight.  
  
"Yeah, well beware of what kind of accidents we have in the future." Angela teased, as she took his hand in hers, and led him back to the campfire.  
  
*-*-*  
  
"So, the winners of our race, Angela and Tony, get their prize now, but first we want to ask them a question."  
  
Angela and Tony stood, as the Reverend seemed to be gesturing them to rise, and looked at him ominously, afraid of what their prize might be, or what the question might be.  
  
"The question is: how did you win the race?"  
  
"I picked her up," Tony said seriously.  
  
"But why did you pick her up?"  
  
"I wanted to *win* the race," Tony answered, wondering what kind of question that was.  
  
"Were you nervous of what the other people might think?"  
  
"No, I just wanted to win," he said again.  
  
"Exactly. Winning was what motivated Tony to do what he did, and he won. In marriage, there are similar happenings—you'll be motivated by the urge to succeed, and you'll do whatever you need to do, to make that happen. And your spouse, if they trust you, will go along for the ride." The Reverend spoke in a booming voice, as if he was sending commandments down from a mountain, or announcing the parting of the sea.  
  
"Just don't drop her skirt," Tony teased, and Angela choked back a laugh.  
  
"It can be quite amusing," Elisa said.  
  
"So, your prize for winning is just something small—something to show that we value the lesson you taught us." The reverend walked nearer to them, and then stopped, resting his hands on theirs. "Here," he said, tucking a small metal object into their hands.  
  
"A key?" Angela asked, confused by what it might be for.  
  
"Yes, a key. To a cabin. Instead of sleeping in a tent, you've earned the right to the cabin—even has a private washroom," the reverend smiled as he watched Angela absorb what he was saying.  
  
"No more tent?"  
  
"Nope, no more tent. You've proven that you trust each other, and that when things get tough, you're willing to carry each other through, so you've earned it."  
  
Angela couldn't believe that something as silly as winning a dash could have such a reward, but there was something to be said about not sleeping in a sleeping bag again.  
  
12***  
  
"Nice digs," Tony said, as he opened the door to the cabin.  
  
"I can't believe how isolated from the tents this is," Angela said, admiring the cabin built of wood and decorated with natural oak furniture. "This is beautiful."  
  
"It is really nice," Tony agreed, as he looked around.  
  
It was a simple one room cabin, with a double bed and a couple of end tables on either side. There was a small couch in one corner, with a coffee table and a book stand, and there were several paintings around the cabin of parents with children—they were all abstract pieces, but it was easy enough to tell what the author was trying for.  
  
"Have you figured out which retreat we're on yet?"  
  
"I was debating if it was the child one, but then there was all that talk of carrying your spouse through hardships. I have no clue," Angela confessed.  
  
"I guess it doesn't really matter," Tony said, as he folded back the quilt on the bed to reveal flannelette sheets.  
  
"We should be getting ready for bed."  
  
"Probably. We get our own private bathroom—isn't this exciting."  
  
"How are we...uh...how are we going to work this out? I mean, the bathroom stuff, and changing?" Angela began to chew on her bottom lip again.  
  
"I say we find our pajamas, and we go into the bathroom and we'll take turns looking at the wall."  
  
"Okay, so how do I get my pajama shirt on, exactly? I mean, my arm is linked to your arm by the cuffs, and I can't exactly fit you through the sleeve."  
  
Tony considered the situation. Telling her to sleep without a top didn't seem like a good option. Well, it did, but not under the circumstances. "What if you sleep in the bikini top. We can get pants on and off," he clarified. "And then tomorrow we can wash the bikini top before you wear it again—it will be like we went swimming."  
  
"I guess so," she agreed.  
  
*-*-  
  
Getting dressed was a strange process. Tony and Angela developed a system where he'd turn away, and clench his fist, so she could use her hand without his getting in the way. It was a comedy of errors though, when she accidentally banged his hand against the side of the sink.  
  
After she got dressed, it was his turn, and he carefully stepped out of his shorts, toeing them down past his knees, and into his pajama bottoms. Pulling them up proved to be much more difficult then he thought though, because Angela's hand was only a matter of inches away from his, and his natural inclination was to hold it. But holding someone's hand while trying to pull up your pants isn't easy, so Tony realized that he had to focus.  
  
"Dressed," he said finally.  
  
"Alright, so we have to brush our teeth and then we're ready for bed." Angela reached for her toothbrush, realizing that her dominant hand was handcuffed to his. "How do I do this?"  
  
"Well considering how great your teeth are, I'm thinking you've mastered the art of brushing," he teased, picking up his own toothbrush, and then resting it on the counter so he could apply his toothpaste to it.  
  
"Sure, make it look easy."  
  
"It is," he laughed.  
  
"Fine then," she said, somewhat discouraged. She didn't like feeling as though she was reliant on anyone.  
  
"Do you want help?" Tony moved in nearer to her, and held out the tube of toothpaste.  
  
Holding out her toothbrush, Angela smiled. "Sure," she said quietly, as he dabbed the perfect amount on her brush. "Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome."  
  
*-*-*-  
  
As the early morning sun broke through their window coverings, Angela and Tony curled further into one another.  
  
Neither was conscious of their sleeping positions, but sometime after falling asleep, Tony's arm had wrapped beneath Angela, who had rolled against him, and their hands met flat against her stomach, cuffed together, but neither seemed uncomfortable.  
  
Tony had enjoyed being able to smell the soft scent of Angela's hair, and after he fell asleep, he quickly fell into perfect dreams of a life with her.  
  
When he woke up in the middle of the night, his body pressed against hers, he was thankful that she didn't seem to notice his ever-hardening erection pressing on her bottom.  
  
Angela woke up just after the sun began to rise, but she wasn't startled by the feeling of a body pressed against hers. Nor was she concerned by the hand pressing against her body. In stead, Angela was somewhat embarrassed for how aroused she was by the entire situation.  
  
Laying next to Tony in a bed, in a cabin, in what would effectively be considered the woods...it seemed so perfect, and it seemed like the ideal way to initiate the next step of their relationship.  
  
If she had anything to do with his hard-on, she surmised, it would be phenomenal to be able to make love to him all weekend long.  
  
Instead, she closed her eyes and fell back asleep and back into her dreams of their lives, and their future.  
  
13***  
  
"Today, we are going to discuss how we feel about each other." The Reverend stood in the centre of the circle, and beamed as he announced the next activity.  
  
"Uh oh," Tony mumbled, only to receive a jab in his side from Angela.  
  
"What we're going to do is call each couple into the centre and ask them to tell us what they love about their spouse, and what they see in their future."  
  
"Eldon and I will do a demonstration," June said, as she joined him in the centre. "Eldon, I love you for being in my life despite the hardships we've faced. I love that you were by my side when we were trying so hard to have a baby, and we couldn't. I love you so much for being there when we adopted Christen, and for teaching me about what love is."  
  
"June..." The reverend smiled at his wife. "I love you for dealing with me when I stayed up all night trying to write a sermon, and when you told me that I wasn't going to disappoint you, no matter what. I love you for being supportive of my work, and for taking an active interest in it. And I love you for being a wonderful mother to Christen."  
  
There was a warm round of applause from the group, and then the Reverend silenced them. "Our award winning couple from yesterday—Tony, and Angela—won't you please join me up here."  
  
Tony and Angela reluctantly walked into the centre, wondering how they were going to pull this part off. Neither one of them had any doubt in their minds that they loved each other, but they weren't sure how to say it in front of all the people watching them.  
  
"Join hands," the reverend instructed, before walking towards the outer circle.  
  
"Angela," Tony began, deciding to let his heart speak, and hopefully not spill too many secrets. "I love waking up next to you, smelling your hair, and watching you brush your teeth—I love watching you when you're sleeping, and dreaming, because you have this perfectly serene smile on your face, and you remind me of the things I felt a lifetime ago. I love how you treat Sam and Jonathon, and how you're always there for them to talk, even though it's been more awkward sometimes than others, and some of the conversations have been anything but easy." He sighed, as he mentally listed all of the things, in preparation for saying them out loud. "I love that you care about everyone you meet—you take care of everyone, and I love that you have a heart of gold that just keeps on giving. I love that you're strong and independent, but that sometimes you let me see the more vulnerable you, and I love that you sometimes blush when I say your name." He watched as she chewed on her bottom lip out of nervousness. "I love that you chew your lip when you're nervous." He hesitated for a moment, and then decided there was nothing left to lose. "I love you, Angela Catherine Bower."  
  
It seemed very cliché and corny—every woman in the room rose to their feet, frantically clapping, and because of the handcuffs, every husband was dragged to an awkward position somewhere in between sitting and standing.  
  
"Very good," the reverend said, watching Angela wipe the tears from her eyes. "Your turn."  
  
Angela swallowed back a lump that had developed after he began his first sentence. Hearing 'I love' in conjunction with anything to do with her seemed like a dream. A very good dream.  
  
"Tony, I love that you can be so emotional sometimes, and be the tough guy the next. I love how you can be jealous and how you can be sensitive, all within the span of a minute, and how you altruistically give yourself and your time over to any cause you encounter." Angela smiled at him, and then continued. "I love how you laugh at my jokes, and when I tell a story for the twentieth time, you listen anyway, and you treat it like it was the first time, because you don't want to hurt my feelings. I love how you take Jonathon under your wing and groom him, showing him how to grow up, and loving him limitlessly. I love that you respect me, and that you see me as a friend before anything else. And I love that you never feel the need to close me out of your life. You don't push me away, no matter what. I love that my life has become synonymous with your life, and how people expect us to enter a party on eachothers' arm, despite everything, and all the complications of our lives." Angela softly squeezed his hand, and then decided how she wanted to conclude. "I love you, Tony because of everything you are, everything you do, and everything you value—you're an unparalleled human."  
  
It would have been appropriate for them to just return to their seats and let the next couple say their piece, but it seemed more fitting for them to lean into one another and kiss.  
  
Although at first tentatively, as soon as their lips touched, they began a passionate exploration of each other's mouths, and held each other tightly to their bodies.  
  
"I can see why they got the cabin," Helena said quietly, although she was certain she wouldn't bother them even if she had yelled. "One more night of that kind of passion, and that tent would have collapsed on them."  
  
14***  
  
Throughout the rest of the confessions of love, Tony and Angela sat very near to one another, and held hands tightly, and when they relocated to the arbor at the edge of the river, Tony and Angela had yet to say anything.  
  
"Our next activity is affirmation of vows," June said as she walked through the six sets of chairs on either side of an aisle leading to the arbor, and looking out on the scenic river. "We'll do six couples today, and then the remaining six tomorrow afternoon. I'm going to borrow Tony and Angela as our first couple, and we'll be back in about fifteen minutes."  
  
People settled into chairs, happily chattering away while June took the duo away from the group.  
  
"What do we have to do?" Angela asked first.  
  
"We're going to get you guys dressed in, you know, clothes, and you can do your make up touch ups again, and then we're going to do a renewal of vows," June listed it all easily, walking them back to their cabin.  
  
"Okay," they both said, rather reluctantly, in unison.  
  
"I'll uncuff you guys, just so you can put on whatever you want to wear. If you have a sundress or whatever, you might want to wear that," she suggested to Angela.  
  
When the handcuffs came off, Angela felt a little strange. She felt like she had lost a part of herself. After all, she had anticipated being with him until Monday.  
  
"I'll go get changed I guess," Tony said, finding clothes in the closet and going to the bathroom.  
  
Angela felt a sudden rush of anxiety. "What am I going to wear?"  
  
"Well, let's go through your wardrobe," June said easily—this was her favourite part of the entire weekend. Being able to help the couples realize how much they wanted to renew their vows was almost boring, but when they got to the renewals, it fascinated her to see how many of them treated it like a first wedding.  
  
"I didn't bring anything for this, really," Angela said, feeling the rush of panic. Looking through the closet, she finally found something she felt was *almost* appropriate. "This," she decided quickly.  
  
When Tony came out of the bathroom, she didn't even look at him, instead rushing past him, and closing the door.  
  
"Nerves," June said easily, certain of what she was seeing.  
  
"Yeah, I guess." Tony laughed, trying to cover his own nervousness. "I have a favour to ask," he said quietly, leaning in closer to June.  
  
*-*-*  
  
"I never thought I'd see that dress again," Tony said, appraising Angela on the walk back to the river front.  
  
"I like to keep it around for memory's sake," she confessed. When she realized she had brought the dress she wore in Jamaica—the dress that she wore the night they spent talking on the bench—she knew it was the perfect thing to wear. "You look really good," she added.  
  
"Thanks." Tony found a simple pair of black pants and light weight linen like blue shirt.  
  
"So, you're stuck with me again," she said, lifting her hand slightly and dragging his with her.  
  
"I'm glad," he admitted.  
  
Settling in front of the crowds, hand in hand, Tony and Angela smiled at each other and barely realized how many people were watching them, or the flash of the camera bulb.  
  
The ceremony itself went by quickly, neither one paying any attention to the words being said to them as much as they were looking each other up and down, and wondering how much longer they could resist acting on all the feelings they were experiencing for each other.  
  
"As a special symbol of his love for Angela, Tony has asked me to bless this ring to be given to her. And it is with great pleasure that I give this to him, to place on Angela's left hand." The reverend passed the gold and platinum diamond band to Tony, who watched Angela's expression, asking for permission. "I bought this," he said, "last year when we were in California. It was so beautiful, and it made me think of you. I've carried it with me every day since, as a reminder of how much I love you, and how much you mean to me, and that eventually I'd find the right time to give this to you."  
  
Tears streamed down Angela's face as he put the ring on her finger, and she couldn't help but lean in and kiss him tenderly.  
  
15***  
  
"You are amazing," she said, as they went back to their cabin.  
  
"Well, I've wanted to give you that for a really long time," he said quietly, squeezing her hand more tightly.  
  
The rest of their walk was in silence but both were thinking about the circumstances of their relationship.  
  
It seemed to be ever evolving and despite everything, neither was ready to let it end.  
  
"Tony?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I, uh, was wondering." She waited a moment, and then continued. "You know how you said you wanted to wait on us, 'til you knew about you?"  
  
"Yeah," he said, wishing he hadn't said that, because of all the uncertainty in his life, Angela wasn't a part of it. She was his constant—no matter what kind of flux there was in their lives.  
  
"Well, do you know about you yet?"  
  
"I know more than I did before," he said as he debated what more he could say.  
  
"Oh."  
  
"I know that I love you," Tony added quickly, realizing he wasn't going to forfeit any opportunity just because he was nervous.  
  
"I love you too," Angela said, feeling silly for the sugary, almost saccharine look she knew that she had on her face.  
  
Tony smiled.  
  
"Do you still want to wait until...if we get married?" She bit down on her lip and then looked around them, wondering if she could crawl into any holes when his answer was what she expected.  
  
"Well...I always thought it would be that way," he admitted.  
  
Angela felt the lump forming in her stomach.  
  
"But, I kind of feel like we're married now. I know we're not really, but it kind of feels like it." Tony waited for her response. When she didn't say anything, he continued. "I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you, and if you'll let it be like this, then maybe you will accept the re-affirmation ceremony as my proposal?"  
  
Angela swallowed hard. "You don't have to...what?" She had been bracing her self for things to be a mess between them—she had been preparing for him to tell her that he still wasn't interested in pursuing anything between them. "So you're saying?"  
  
"Angela, will you marry me? And will you let me make love to you tonight?"  
  
"Yes," she said quietly, looking at him in nothing less than adoration.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Yes," Angela said more certain this time.  
  
*-*-*  
  
Waking up, spooned together, naked and totally in love with each other, Angela couldn't hide her grin when she pressed a kiss against his lips.  
  
"Morning," she said as her hand stroked his hip bone.  
  
"Mmm...morning," Tony said leaning back in for another kiss.  
  
"I like these wake up calls," Angela confessed as she leaned in more flush against him. She could feel him hardening against her thigh, and she wondered how she had lived this long without waking up like that every morning.  
  
"You're my favourite alarm clock," he said as his free hand went to run the length of her arm.  
  
She giggled, "well I didn't think you were falling asleep when we were...you know, and I don't think I was that loud."  
  
Tony grinned. "Well maybe we should try it again, and see? I was so caught up in you that I didn't gauge how loud you were, as much as how beautiful and amazing you are." Angela felt a blush creep over her as he rolled them over and straddled her hips.  
  
"These handcuffs make things fun," he laughed, remembering how creative he had to get to keep them comfortable the night before, and how tortuous it was to only be able to explore her body with one hand.  
  
"You make things fun," she said lamely. "The handcuffs just add to the entertainment value."  
  
As he thrust into her, and leaned in to kiss her, they both felt themselves become lost in ecstasy.  
  
"I love you," he whispered against her lips, and she wondered if it was possible for things to become any more perfect between them.  
  
16***  
  
"Well, you have all survived a weekend cuffed to your spouse, and none of you seem too worse for wear," the reverend joked.  
  
Angela and Tony were still holding hands tightly, and enjoying the feeling of knowing they'd be so near to each other—there was something about them being separated that made them both feel somewhat sad.  
  
"Elise will be coming around and uncuffing you all. In the mean time, I will be coming around to give you a package to take home with you." He smiled as he worked his way around the group, distributing manila tag envelopes and cards.  
  
*-*-*  
  
In the jeep on the way home, Angela and Tony listened to oldies radio stations and laughed about bringing home the swimsuits they were provided.  
  
"What's in the envelop? Did we ever find out?"  
  
"I don't know," Angela said, having forgotten about the package. "Let me check."  
  
Opening the card, she laughed. "Well, we were at the 'Discovering your spouse and reaffirming your love' one," Angela said as she continued to read. "Oh my gosh," she said, her jaw dropping as she read on.  
  
"What? Did Eldon proposition you or something?"  
  
"Worse."  
  
"Did June proposition you?" "Listen to this: 'it will take four signatures to make your wedding this weekend official—and we don't mind providing the first two, if you two have decided you're finally ready for the next step. If you don't mind us saying so, we think you are.'" Angela read the card, and then laughed.  
  
"They knew!" Tony said, laughing.  
  
"They did." She was still shocked. Opening the envelop, she looked in and drew in a breath. "Wedding pictures," she said softly. "They've given us wedding pictures."  
  
Tony looked across and smiled. "You look beautiful."  
  
"You look amazing too," Angela smiled back at him, wondering how he felt about the reverend's suggestion.  
  
"It was a great wedding," he said, gauging her response.  
  
"Pretty perfect."  
  
"How do you feel about having them sign the papers?"  
  
"Really?"  
  
His hand reached over and rested gently on her thigh. "Really. It was the most amazing day of my life, and it seemed so perfect. I can't imagine anything better."  
  
"Neither can I," she confessed.  
  
"At the next rest station, we could call them."  
  
"Let's," she agreed, resting her hand on top of his. "And Tony?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"At the next rest station, do you mind if we pull over for a while?"  
  
"Angela, it's a two and a half hour drive—three if we stop at any point."  
  
"Can I help it if I want to ravish you in the backseat?"  
  
Tony looked at her, wondering if she was being serious. When there was no hint to say she wasn't, he nodded. "So, why don't we call the kids and say we won't be in until very late tonight...The retreat is taking longer than we thought." Tony wiggled his eyebrows, and then laughed. "I can already tell that this relationship is going to be exhausting."  
  
"Well we don't have to..." "Oh, you can't say something like you did, and then say 'we don't have to.'"  
  
Gently squeezing her thigh, he grinned. "Married life is good for us."  
  
"Very." 


End file.
